MP wants town’s green areas saved – Swindon Advertiser

Mr Buckland, in his first speech to Parliament, said further development was inevitable in a town that had “grown over the years and reinvented itself to quite brilliant effect” – but stressed it had to be sustainable.

He added: “I therefore welcome a change to the planning regime, so that my town can survive, thrive and prosper in the years ahead.”

Mr Buckland explained later that he was unhappy with “unsustainable” proposals to build homes in the eastern development area to the east of A419, near South Marston, and said he would be calling on Swindon Council to “look again” at figures on housing need that were generated in an economic boom and were now “out of date”. Similarly, he would ask Wiltshire Council to “rethink” development plans to the west of Swindon.